Nursing Reflective Essay

I was assigned in gastrointestinal surgery ward. During this placement, I have gained sufficient knowledge and skills that helped me developed my professional learning experience. Using Gibbs reflective cycle, it enabled me to reflect on my clinical experience. It made me aware of the things that I could do better in the future. My patient requires highly complex surgery and postoperative wound care; he has bellovac drains and nasogastric tube (NGT). My buddy nurse told me to remove his NGT and bellovac drain. At first, I was very hesitant about the procedure since it was my first time to remove an NGT and bellovac drain. While I was preparing my equipment, I was also preparing myself and building some confidence. Then, I asked permission from

the patient. I just followed the instructions of my nurse and surely I have successfully completed the procedure. The patient was certainly fine and told me that I did a great job. It was a great experience.

As the usual, I was a bit tense and worried about the procedure and the reaction of the patient.

However, my tiny confidence helped me to focus and execute the task accordingly. After that, it felt great because I was able to do the task flawlessly. Then, it made me realise that subjecting myself to every nursing skills increases my self-confidence. This will be my foundation that will help me to adapt in new situations.

The positive aspect of this experience helped me built my confidence in performing nursing tasks. After that, I was able to perform various kinds of nursing procedures. It was indeed a great experience to increase my nursing skills. According to Chesser-Smyth (2013) every opportunity is a learning opportunity and it is preparing me to become a better nurse someday.

There was not much negative aspect that I can talk about from this experience. My buddy nurse was very supportive and she was always guiding me on practicing skills that were within my scope of nursing. However, the only negative aspect that I can say about was my time management. I am a bit slow when performing a procedure because it was new for me. Nelson (2010) mentioned that time management skills can be overwhelming for novice nurses however, this will improve overtime after several

practice.

The experience thought me to trust and believe in my capabilities. Be positive and expose myself to new opportunities because it is important for a nursing student to participate in clinical skills and procedures to achieve success (Chesser-Smyth, 2013). The more practice, the better I can perform and the more confident I will become.

Everything went well except for my time that it took me a bit long to finish the procedure. Therefore, to enhance the outcome, I could have been aware of my time management by planning ahead of time and organising the flow of the procedure.

My action plan is to be more proactive when it comes to performing nursing skills. Since, the best way to become more confident and competent is through experience and continual exposure to different field of nursing. As stated in National competency standards for the registered nurse, participation in professional development will enhance nursing practice (NMBA, 2006).